202 Banister and Pulmonary Circulation 



Which side did Banister himself choose? As if the conflicting theories of the 

 Galenists and Columbus were not enough, Leonardus Botallus had lately con- 

 tradicted both and claimed the discovery of the right path. He had found a 

 (probably open) foramen ovale and believed this to be the source of the ar- 

 teries and vital spirits.'" No wonder that Banister at the beginning of book 

 VII found himself "amased, and as one plunged in the depth of contrary 

 streames."" It is interesting to compare his attitude with that of Ambroise 

 Pare as expressed in the latter's Anatomy of 1575/' Pare, too, quotes Columbus 

 and Botallus. He sketches the former's doctrine briefly and adds: "This opin- 

 ion is very probable."" Regarding Botallus' discovery, he doubts its originality. 

 Banister does not definitely reject the Galenists or Botallus, although he 

 criticizes the latter for the inaccuracy of his description. Nor does he commit 

 himself definitely to Columbus. He simply chooses Columbus as his guide 

 without prejudice to others. "I have thought good," he says, "to describe the 

 partes after the best approved, and that in such wise, as there shall appeare 

 therein great perspicuitie, and likehode of truth."" The final judgment he 



leaves to the reader. 



REFERENCES 



I.Jones, Richard Foster: Ancients and Moderns: a study of the background of the Battle of 

 the Books (St. Louis: 1936); "Washington Univ. Studies" n.s. — Lang. & Lit. no. 6; Smith, 

 Goldwin: "The practice of medicine in Tudor England" Sci. Month. 50:65, 1940. 



2.Larkey, Sanford V.: "The Vesalian compendiiun of Geminus and Nicholas Udall's trans- 

 lation; their relation to Vesalius, Caius, Vicary and de Mondeville " The Library (4)13: 



36?' 1933- 



3. Power, Sir D'Arcy: "Notes on early portraits of John Banister, of William Harvey, and the 



Barber Surgeons' Visceral Lecture in 1581" Proc. Roy. Soc. Med. 6:18, 1913; "John 

 Banester, 1533-1610" Brit. Jl. Surg. 5:8, 1917-18; "The education of a surgeon under 

 Thomas Vicary" Brit. Jl. Surg. 8:240, 1920-1921. Also in his Selected Writiugs, i8jj-ip^o 

 (Oxford: 1930,67-94. 



4. See Temkin, Owsei: "Was Seivetus influenced by Ibn an NafTs?" Bull. Histor. Med. 8:731, 



1940. 



5. Columbus Cremonensis, Realdus: De Re Anatomica Libri XV (Venetiis: 1559), 177. 



6. Banister: Historic of Man, fol. 91'. 



7. An English translation of most of the passages from Columbus relevant to the pulmonary 



circulation can be found in Dalton, J. C: Doctrines of the Circulation (Philadelphia: 

 1884). 



8. Banister, as cited, fol. 92'. 



9. Same, fol. 89"". 



10. See Franklin, K. J.: "Ductus Venosus [Arantii] and Ductus Arteriosus [Botalli]" Bull. 



Histor. Med. 9:581, 1941. 



11. Banister, as cited, fol. 89^ 



12. See Bayon, H. P.: "William Harvey, physician and biologist; his precursors, opponents and 



successors" Ann. Sci. 4:347, 1939. 



13. Oeuvres Completes d'Ambroise Pare, ed. by J. F. Malgaigne, I (Paris: 1840), 194. 



14. Banister, as cited, fol. 89''. 



